Which is longer 5 miles or 10 kilometers?

1 Answer
Nov 3, 2016

#10# kilometers

Explanation:

#5# miles is about #8# kilometers, so #10# kilometers is longer.

The exact conversion figure is #1.609344#, which follows from one inch being defined as #2.54# cm

I find it handy to use the first few terms of the Fibonacci sequence as an approximation for converting between miles and kilometers.

The Fibonacci sequence starts #1, 1#. Then every subsequent term is formed by adding the two previous terms:

#1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34,...#

The ratio of pairs of consecutive terms tends towards the Golden ratio #~~ 1.618034#, which is not too far off #1.609344#.

Hence we find #5# miles is about #8# kilometers, #8# miles is about #13# kilometers, etc.